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Equal Pay Discrimination Details

Employers cannot discriminate against female workers by paying them less wages than their male counterparts who work in the same establishment performing similar work. Your job need not be identical to your male colleague for you to qualify for equal pay, but your job must be substantially equal and require similar skill, effort, and responsibilities. An employer can avoid a finding of pay discrimination if it can prove that the unequal pay is the result of seniority, merit, performance-based pay, or some legitimate reason other than sex. Our qualified pay equity lawyers can assess whether your job is legally similar to your higher-paid male comparator and whether the pay differential could be considered excusable under a legitimate defense.

Certain state laws may provide additional pay equity protections. For example, California’s Fair Pay Act requires employers to pay equal wages for “substantially similar work,” and California has created narrower excuses that employers may use to justify differences in pay. California law also prohibits pay discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity.

Examples of Potential Pay Discrimination

Your employer hires a man to work alongside you in the same position and you learn he negotiated a higher salary for performing similar work.

You learn that your less senior male colleague earns more because of differing market conditions at the time he was hired.

Your male coworker receives a higher base salary for performing the same work, and when you raise the issue, you are told this is because you tend to earn more in incentive pay.

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